


Preoccupied

by starspangledmanwithaplan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angry Steve, Angry Steve Rogers, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, steve is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 20:37:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18532714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starspangledmanwithaplan/pseuds/starspangledmanwithaplan
Summary: You have been so preoccupied with your disdain for Steve, that you completely miss the fact that Bucky is falling in love with you.





	Preoccupied

Steve stood there, clad in his dark blue stealth suit, thumbs hooked into the leather belt, going over the details about the upcoming mission. Or at least, that’s what he had been doing when you strolled in, five minutes late, coffee cup in hand, and yawning loudly. 

“Sorry,” you mumbled, raking a hand through your sleep-tousled hair. “Didn’t think I’d sleep so late.”

“It’s called an alarm,” Steve bit out, his eyes cold and cutting through you.

You rolled your eyes and waved a hand. “Well, maybe if someone had bothered to check on me before the meeting started…” 

Wanda blushed as your voice trailed off. “I’m sorry. I got… side-tracked.” 

“It is entirely my fault, agent Y/L/N,” Vision interjected, bowing his head in apology.

“It’s nobody’s fault but yours,” Steve ground out, cerulean eyes drilling into yours, determined to get the meeting back on track. 

God, the man was infuriating. You wanted to punch him right in his perfect fucking jaw, knock out those perfectly straight teeth, fuck up his  _ fucking perfect smile _ . Instead, you kicked your feet up on the edge of the table and gave him a tight smile. 

“You were saying?” You pointed to the projection behind Steve. 

“Yes, as I was saying.” He squared his shoulders before continuing. “The mission isn’t too complicated; get in, get what we need, and get out before anyone notices.”

“Sounds like his sex life,” you muttered under your breath, making Nat snort. 

Steve let out a heavy huff and rolled his eyes. “You got somethin’ to say,  _ agent _ ?” 

“Nope,” you replied, popping the p loudly. Nat swatted your foot with her hand while trying to hide her smile. 

“Sam and Clint, given the location and the surrounding area, we’re going to need a bird’s eye view,” Steve directed his friends. “Wanda and Viz, you’ll go in first. Bucky, Nat, and I will be right behind you.” 

When the image behind Steve changed to blue prints, you sat up. “What about me?”

“What about you?” Steve deadpanned, not even turning to meet your gaze.

“What will I be doing on the mission?” 

One of Steve’s massive shoulders bobbed up and down. “You’re not going.”

“What?” you shouted, standing up so fast the chair you had been sitting in toppled over. 

At your outburst, Steve turned and leveled you with a glare. “You’re sitting this one out, kid.”

“Why?” you demanded to know, heart racing, fist slamming onto the table. 

“Because,” he said tightly, your name bitter on his tongue. “You’re unprofessional, you rush head-first into a fight whether you know the dangers or not, and you’re arrogant as fuck. You need to be taken down a peg or two, and if sitting out on a mission does that, so be it.” 

“ _ I’m  _ arrogant?” you scoffed, throat tight, tears threatening to sting your eyes. “I’m not the one who marched into the last HYDRA base we infiltrated and asked if they wanted to take a picture, Steven.” 

Bucky was shaking his head. “Steve, don’t,” he warned his friend.

Steve’s chest puffed up as he sucked in a breath. “It’s called sarcasm, kid.”

“For someone pushing a hundred, I’m surprised you know what the fuck that is,” you shot back, chest burning in fury.

Without even pausing to think about the impact of his words, Steve ground out, “You know, for someone whose ability isn’t all that incredible or helpful, I don’t even know why you’re here.” 

“Steven,” Nat hissed, hand balling into a fist. 

Bucky hung his head and shook it, Sam and Clint glared at their friend, Wanda looked like she might cry, and Viz had absolutely no idea what he should be doing. 

You gnashed your teeth together to keep the tears at bay and gave Steve a curt nod. “Alright, then. Carry on,” you managed to say before leaving the conference room. The door wasn’t even shut when you heard Steve pick up the meeting where it had been left off. 

Only when you were back in the safety of your room did you react to what Steve had said. Rage boiled in your gut and you let loose a scream that had the windows rattling. Yeah, you didn’t have super soldier serum running through your veins, you weren’t a medically-altered superspy, you weren’t made from a fucking yellow Infinity Stone, you weren’t telekinetic or psychic. You didn’t have Clint’s amazing vision and you sure as hell couldn’t fly around like Sam. Hell, Tony had more abilities than you and those came from a metal suit. 

They called you Banshee. Didn’t take much to figure out  _ why _ . So no, your ability wasn’t incredible or helpful, according to Steve, but damn it, you’d done some serious damage since joining the Avengers. Or at least, you thought you had. Did everyone think that way? Were they just putting up with you? 

God, you had to get out of your own head. You grabbed your iPod, shoved the buds into your ears, and headed toward the gym. Just because you could scream until someone’s brain melted didn’t mean they didn’t expect you to kick some ass. 

With your hair pulled back, playlist on shuffle, and hands taped up, you went to work on the punching bag, imagining it was Steve’s stupid face you were hitting. 

He’d given you a hard time since minute zero, pushed you harder than anyone else, seemed to expect more from you. He was  _ always _ on your case, nothing was good enough for him, and it drove you fucking insane. 

A hand on your shoulder got your attention. You whirled around and kicked, but a large hand gripped your calf and stopped it from colliding with his groin. 

Bucky’s eyes glimmered as he grinned lopsidedly. “Easy on the goods, doll,” he teased, releasing your leg. 

You snorted and rolled your eyes as you tugged the buds from your ears. “What’re you doin’ here? Thought you had a mission.”

“We do, leave in five,” he answered, fiddling with the dark binder around his wrist.

“What are you doing here, with me, the no-talent bitch?” 

Bucky pushed a hand through his long hair, sighing when it fell in his face. “We need you. You know that, right?”

Scoffing, you ripped the tape off your hands. “Not according to your captain.”

“Steve’s a punk.”

“That’s putting it mildly, Buck,” you said flatly. After throwing away the tape, you swiped a towel over your face. 

“So, you comin’ with?” His eyebrows bobbed up and down playfully.

You stared at him for a beat. “You heard him, he doesn’t want me there, doesn’t think I do anything to help the team.” 

“We all know that’s bullshit. More importantly,  _ you _ know that’s bullshit. Look, I’ll handle Steve. You get ready.” Bucky clapped a hand on your shoulder before leaving. “Three minutes.”

No. You weren’t going, and not just because Steve grounded you. If you went, the urge to throttle Steve might become too much to ignore, and the last thing you wanted was to prove him right, that you were worthless, that you let your emotions get the better of you. Then again, pissing Steve off by showing up without his permission might make your day.

“Fuck it,” you snarled and jogged out of the training room. 

Two minutes and forty five seconds later, you slid up the ramp of the quinjet. “Let’s do this.”

Steve ground his jaw and shot you a glare that would have made anyone else wince. “Buckle up.”

Six hours later, you stormed off the quinjet with Steve close behind, his shouts of disapproval driving tears of frustration and rage to your eyes. 

“The fuck were you thinkin’? You almost got us fuckin’ killed! I knew it, I  _ told _ you -”

“Told me what, huh?” you screamed, whirling around, bloodied hands balled into fists. “That my ability isn’t all that helpful? Yeah, I fucking  _ know _ that, okay? I don’t need you constantly reminding me about it.”

Steve gnashed his molars together. “You think you can do whatever you want, fuck what anyone else has to say,  _ especially _ those in charge. That ends  _ today _ .” 

“Ohhhhh, what are you gonna do about it, huh? You gonna  _ tell _ on me?” You gave a bitter and incredulous laugh.

“You’re  _ done _ , here, Banshee.” For some reason, the way he said your nickname made you want to cry. “Clint took a fuckin’ bullet for you out there.”

“You think I don’t know that?” you choked. “I got his blood on my fucking  _ hands _ .”

Steve towered over you. “If you hadn’t been there -”

“You’d all be dead,” you screamed, shrill, borderline ear piercing. That was when the two of you started yelling over one another.

“I had it under control -”

“Like hell you did. You didn’t see -”

“Sam was going to take them out -”

“Did he see the fucking  _ cannon  _ on the other side of -”

“Course he did. Because unlike you, he checks -”

“God, here we go again. You act so self-righteous and -”

“Better than reckless and annoying like -”

“I don’t believe this. You sound like a child.”

“You’re  _ done _ ,” he repeated, bellowing his previous threat. “You’ll wish you never even joined -”

“I already fucking  _ do _ , Steve,” you shoved him hard, catching him off guard enough that he stumbled back. “You want me gone? Fine. I’m  _ gone _ . Just give me five minutes and I’ll get out of your perfect fucking life.” With tears in your eyes you spun around and ran out of the bay. 

True to your word, you were changed and had a bag packed in five minutes. When you opened the door to your apartment, Bucky was standing there. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have pushed you to come.”

“It’s not your fault Steve’s a giant douche.”

Bucky chuckled ruefully. “Stay. He just needs to cool down. He’ll see how great you are, how much we need you.”

“No, Buck,” you sighed wearily. “He won’t. He’s too far up his own ass to see anything else, and I… I can’t do this anymore. Being part of the Avengers was supposed to be… amazing, but it’s been pure hell. I can’t stay in a place where I’m not wanted.’

“But you are wanted,” he insisted, dark eyes searching yours. 

“I”m sorry,” you lamented, pressing a hand to one side of his face and your lips to the other. “Tell Clint and the girls bye for me?” 

Bucky tried to clear the emotion from his voice before he answered. “Yeah, you got it.” 

“Thank you for being such a great friend.” 

He swallowed heavily and leaned into your touch. “Can I uh, can I tell you something?”

“A’course, Buck,” you assured him with a small smile. “You can tell me anything.”

“I like you,” he blurted out. “I like you  _ a lot _ , and I don’t want to be just your friend, and I really want you to stay.” 

Your heart clenched painfully in your chest. Had you been so blind, so focused on being an Avenger, on proving Steve wrong that you completely missed the way Bucky had been looking at you, as if you were his whole world. 

Your hand slipped from his face, nails skimming down his neck before you pressed your hand against his chest. He had shed the black leather of his mission gear and pulled on a pair of grey sweats and a dark red t-shirt. You were staring at the tattered collar of his shirt, relishing in the way his heart pounded against your palm.

Bucky had been there for you from the second you joined the Avengers. He trained with you, hung out with you on the nights you couldn’t sleep, played cards with you, watched movies with you, kept you company when your anxiety and depression got the better of you. He never yelled, never judged, never complained about your work ethic. He was everything you never knew you needed.

Bucky tucked some hair behind your ear with his vibranium hand, the cool metal of it making you shiver. “Say something,” he murmured. “Please.”

“I like you, too,” you admitted breathily, peering up at him. All the rage from before had melted away, leaving you vulnerable and exposed. It felt different, but in a good kind of way. 

“Yeah?” he huffed, forehead pressed to yours. 

You curled your fingers into his shirt and pushed up to your toes, covering his mouth with yours. With a heavy sigh, he pulled your bottom lip between his and his arms found their way around your waist, hands spread  _ wide _ over your back. 

“Yeah,” you murmured, fingers carding through his long hair. 

“So, you’ll stay?” he asked timidly, eyes wide, scared.

You pressed a kiss between his eyes and nodded. “I’ll stay for you, but you gotta get Steve off my ass.”

“It’s a deal,” Bucky said, grinning wide. 


End file.
